After a Black Hawk military helicopter and an American Airlines (AAL) plane preparing to land at Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) collided late on Jan. 29, the airport — located just three miles from the White House and the Capitol — was initially ordered closed until Friday morning.
The accident is the first major commercial crash on U.S. soil since a Colgan Air plane crashed while landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) in 2009.
On Thursday morning a search-and-rescue operation carrried out through the night was officially changed to a recovery operation with no survivors expected.
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By 6:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time the bodies of 30 of the 64 people aboard the American Airlines flight and one of the three soldiers on the military helicopter had been recovered from the Potomac River, reports say.
When the crash occurred, at about 8:50 p.m. on Wednesday night, an immediate ground stop was issued on all flights coming into Washington National. Planes already in the air were rerouted to either Washington Dulles (IAD) or Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (BWI).
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Reopening of Washington National airport
Due to its proximity to the White House, the airspace around DCA is among the world's most heavily restricted and patrolled airspaces.
Early speculation on the causes of the crash from aviation experts suggest that it was likely an accident caused by too many aircraft in close proximity.
In the hours after the crash, the area around the Potomac River was blocked off by hundreds of emergency and military vehicles. The areas around and inside both Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) in Kansas and DCA saw families of the victims gather for updates.
The Federal Aviation Administration had initially said that DCA would remain closed to flights until at least 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 31. But Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority President Jack Potter issued an update saying that flights would resume by 11 a.m. on Thursday morning.
"It's safe," Potter said in a statement. "We've worked with all the federal agencies, FAA, and it's been determined that we've opened that airport safely."
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Cause of the crash remains unclear
Within hours of the crash, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom flew to DC from the airline's headquarters in Dallas. The airline has also opened a hotline via which families of victims can reach the airline toll-free at 1-800-679-8215.
"At this time, we don't know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft," Isom said in a statement on the crash. The airline also said that it is "in contact with authorities and assisting with emergency response efforts." (PSA was operating the flight for American Air.)
Local emergency workers, the FAA and the FBI were among those enlisted immediately after the crash while investigation of the cause has now been handed over to the leadership of the National Transportation Safety Board.
DC Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly said he was "confident" that emergency workers would be able to recover the bodies of all 67 people who were on the two aircraft.
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